NNY Girl Scouts attend science discovery event at Clarkson University

Sunday, May 15, 2011 - 6:08 pm

POTSDAM -- Several dozen Junior Girl Scouts from northern New York attended a science discovery event at Clarkson University recently, sponsored by the St. Lawrence County Branch of the American Association of University Women and the Clarkson chapter of the Society of Women Engineers .

The science fun and discovery began as the scouts visited six different stations designed by the Clarkson SWE members so the girls could complete the requirements for the Junior Girl Scout Science Discovery Badge.

The activities included making invisible ink and writing messages to each other that they tried to read. The girls also played with “magic sand” that didn’t get wet when put in water, and made crazy putty, a kaleidoscope and bath salts.

At the biomechanics station, the girls found their centers of mass. Based on that, they tried to predict who would have the better balance when dueling with pugil sticks.

Once the girls had finished all six science activities, they made ice cream using an individual ice cream maker of two plastic bags. The night concluded with a swim in the university pool.

Branch Open Window’s coordinator, Faye W. White of Ogdensburg, said, “Our partnership with the Girl Scouts goes back many years and AAUW was delighted to help fund this SWE event. The scouts are at the perfect age to be exposed to the fun of science discovery. And Clarkson’s SWE members are the perfect role models.”